Support for motor vehicle bodywork elements, an equipment front face divided into two parts, and a motor vehicle front block divided into two modules

ABSTRACT

A support for bodywork of a vehicle elements is provided that includes means for receiving and fastening optical elements, fastener members for bodywork elements, docking zones for receiving the edges of bodywork elements and for putting them into position relative to the adjacent edges of bodywork elements and optical elements, and a means for positioning and fixing a hood lock. The equipment front face has generally two portions, a structural portion and a geometrical portion, corresponding to the vehicle front block divided into two modules, a structural module integrating various functional members of the vehicle, and a geometrical module integrating the bodywork elements for the front of the vehicle.

This is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 10/409,444 filedApr. 9, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,880,882. The entire disclosure of theprior application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

The present invention relates to a support for motor vehicle bodyworkelements, to an equipment front face, and to a motor vehicle frontblock.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Equipment front faces are known that are rigid structural parts servingto unite various functional members of a vehicle, such as, for example:a radiator, tanks, and light units. Such a structural part constitutesan assembly that is prepared in advance for fitting as a single block onthe vehicle assembly line.

This reduces the length of the vehicle assembly line by avoiding theneed to install the functional members at the front of the vehicle oneby one.

However, bodywork elements continue to be installed in traditionalmanner, since after putting the equipment front face into place, it isnecessary to bring in separately the shield, the grille, and possiblyalso other bodywork elements, for applying to the front block of thevehicle.

Such traditional assembly of bodywork elements raises well-knowndifficulties of ensuring that adjacent bodywork elements are properlypositioned relative to one another, and also that light units areproperly positioned relative to bodywork elements, in particular giventhe expansions to which they are subject while the vehicle is in use.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to propose a technical solution enabling theconditions under which bodywork elements are assembled on a vehicle tobe improved, while nevertheless retaining the advantages associated withprior assembly of functional members on an equipment front face.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to usebodywork elements having walls that are remarkably fine, thus makingthem lightweight and low cost.

The present invention firstly provides a support for bodywork elements,the support comprising:

means for receiving and fixing optical elements;

members for fixing to bodywork elements; and

docking zones for receiving the edges of bodywork elements and forpositioning them relative to the edges of adjacent bodywork elements andoptical elements.

In accordance with the invention, the optical elements may be opticalglasses, complete light units, or overglasses, i.e. glasses placed infront of light units that already have their own front glasses.

The function of the support of the invention is to unite and prepositionthe various bodywork elements situated at the front of the vehicle, i.e.in general the bumper, the optical elements, and the grille, and toensure that they are held together while they are being assembled on thevehicle, and then subsequently while said vehicle is in use.

The invention makes it possible in particular to assemble opticalelements and bodywork elements simultaneously on the vehicle so as toconstitute the front block, thereby both reducing vehicle assembly timeand improving the positioning of the various bodywork elements andoptical elements relative to one another.

One of the advantages of the invention is that the bodywork elementscarried by the support may present very fine thickness, thereby reducingthe overall weight of the parts assembled on said support.

By means of the support of the invention, it is possible to handlebodywork elements that are not very rigid and to assemble them withoutdifficulty on the vehicle.

In a particular embodiment, the support comprises prop members forsupporting bodywork elements in order to compensate for the lack ofrigidity of the bodywork elements and to avoid deformation that isundesirable from the point of view of appearance, even though withoutconsequence, structurally speaking.

Another advantage associated with the fact that thin bodywork elementscan be fixed on the support is that said bodywork elements held by theiredges are forced to expand within their volume, without peripheralexpansion, thereby guaranteeing that their positioning relative to oneanother is properly conserved.

It will thus be understood that the function of the prop membersrelative to the bodywork elements is purely for reasons of appearanceand non-structural, the structure of the vehicle being neitherreinforced nor degraded by the presence or absence of such prop members.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the docking zones acting onthe bodywork elements carried by the support in particular to dock themwith the surrounding bodywork elements, are constituted by fender/shieldpressers of well-known structure, and the docking zones acting betweenbodywork elements and optical elements carried by the support areconstituted by grille/shield fixing and by supporting the top area ofthe shield.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the support for thebodywork elements further comprises means for positioning and fixing ahood lock.

The present invention also provides an equipment front face divided intotwo portions, namely a structural portion receiving functional membersof the vehicle, and a geometrical portion constituted by a support asdescribed above.

The structural portion and the geometrical portion are shaped so as tobe easy to assemble together, preferably in the longitudinal directionof the vehicle.

Since there is no direct connection with the bodywork elements of thevehicle, the structural portion of the equipment front face does notneed to be positioned very precisely relative to the bodywork elements,which makes it easier to assemble on the vehicle.

In other words, the equipment front face of the invention provides adistinction between functional portions which can be positioned with acertain amount of inaccuracy, and bodywork and optical elements whichneed to be positioned very precisely relative to one another, both thosecarried by the geometrical portion and those carried by the remainder ofthe vehicle, around the front block.

Because of this distinction, the invention conserves the principle ofthe equipment front face as a set of parts that can be prepared inadvance and off the vehicle assembly line, with this principle applyingequally well to the functional members and to the vehicle bodyworkelements.

In addition, the order and the manner in which one or the other portionof the equipment front face is prepared has no effect on vehicleassembly. In particular, the structural portion of the equipment frontface need not be prepared in advance, but can be assembled directly onthe vehicle prior to putting the geometrical portion into place.

The invention also provides a method of assembling parts on a motorvehicle equipment front face as described above, where the direction Xindicates the longitudinal horizontal direction of the vehicle, thedirection Y indicates the transverse horizontal direction of thevehicle, and the direction Z indicates the vertical direction, whichmethod comprises the following steps:

fixing the structural portion to the structure of the vehicle withoutaccurate positioning in the directions X and Y, but while ensuringaccurate geometrical positioning of the bodywork in the direction Z,such as the ends of the side reinforcements of the scuttle or of thefender, if already present on the body of the vehicle when thestructural portion is assembled thereto; and

subsequently placing the geometrical portion by resting it vertically onthe structural portion which imposes thereon its own positioning in thedirection Z, the geometrical portion being positioned in the directionsX and Y relative to a geometrical reference of the bodywork, such assaid fender ends, for example.

In the embodiment where the support for bodywork elements has means forpositioning and fixing a hood lock, the hook lock is initially fixed tothe geometrical portion of the equipment front face by being placed atexactly the desired distance from the optical glass on the support.

While positioning the geometrical portion on the structural portion ofthe equipment front face, the lock has its Z position determined by thestructural portion, while it conserves its X and Y positions on thesupport, and the support is itself positioned in the directions X and Yby the bodywork geometrical references supplied by the vehicle. The lockis thus properly positioned in all three directions X, Y, and Z.

Proper centering of the hood relative to the bodywork elements is thusguaranteed, since this centering stems directly from the position of thelock.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the structural portion ofthe equipment front face is arranged so as to be fixed on the body ofthe vehicle, at the ends of two side rails.

In a particular embodiment, the geometrical portion is fixed to the bodyvia the reinforcement ends of scuttle sides and by re-fixing the lock onthe structural portion in the Z direction.

In a particular variant, the geometrical portion and the structuralportion have section members in the vicinity of the lock which, on beingassembled together, form a hollow body that stiffens the equipment frontface in the region where the lock is fixed.

According to other advantageous characteristics of the invention:

the geometrical portion of the equipment front face has an appearancecross-member which masks a structural cross-member under the hood;

the geometrical portion has elements for dealing with impacts againstpedestrians, i.e. top reinforcement for acting as a bearing point forthe shield in order to deal with “hip” impacts against pedestrians (or“child's head” impacts) and to provide support for the buttocks, and/ora honeycomb type impact absorber at impact beam height in order to dealwith “leg” impacts and/or a low-portion beam;

the structural portion may equally well be assembled on the vehicle atthe same time as the engine and transmission unit to which it hasalready been fixed, or after the engine and transmission unit isassembled to the vehicle;

while assembling the geometrical portion on the vehicle, not only do thebodywork elements carried by the support remain properly positionedrelative to one another and relative to the optical glass, but, inaddition, the vehicle fenders become connected via the docking zones ofthe support to the edges of the bodywork elements carried by the supportso as to become accurately positioned relative thereto, the end of eachfender being held and re-shaped by the support so as to become exactlyflush with the optical glass and/or the bodywork elements carried by thesupport;

the structural portion supports various functional members of thevehicle such as, for example: its radiator, various tanks, one or moreconverging members, an impact cross-member;

the structural portion carries a bottom flange which is fitted to thevehicle at the same time as the other parts carried by the structuralportion;

the structural portion has additional equipment supports, such assupports for batteries, air filters, engine integration units,computers; and

the equipment front face supports two hood locks each situated at thetop end of a vertical leg fixed to one end of a side rail andconstituting, with the other leg fixed to the other side rail, the onlyparts forming the structural portion of the equipment front face of theinvention. Under such circumstances, the forces that arise from the hoodbeing slammed shut or pulled open are transmitted directly from thelocks to the side rails via the legs and no central cross-member isrequired.

The present invention also provides a motor vehicle front block dividedinto two modules, namely a structural module combining variousfunctional members of the vehicle and a geometrical module combining thebodywork elements for the front of the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To make the invention easier to understand, there follows a descriptionof embodiments provided with the help of non-limiting examples,illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially-exploded perspective view of a motor vehicle frontblock;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the geometrical module of the FIG. 1front block carrying a slightly modified shield;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the structural module of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the front of the structure of a motorvehicle receiving the FIG. 1 front block;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views analogous respectively to FIGS. 3 and 4 showinganother embodiment of the front block;

FIG. 7 is a view analogous to FIG. 3 showing another embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a view analogous to FIG. 3 showing another embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the rear of a geometrical moduleconstituting another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a view of detail X in FIG. 9 after a light unit has beenpositioned on the geometrical module;

FIG. 11 is a view of the front of the same geometrical module after twolight units have been positioned; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a motor vehicle front block accordingto another embodiment of the invention.

MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with the invention, the front block shown in FIG. 1comprises a structural module 1 and a geometrical module 2.

The structural module 1 is constituted by a structural portion 3 of anequipment front face and by various functional members of the vehicleassembled on said structural portion.

The geometrical module is constituted by a geometrical portion 4 of thesame equipment front face, by two optical glasses 5, and by a shield 6fitted to said geometrical portion.

The shield 6 comprises a bottom portion 6 a constituting a bumper skinprovided with two end overriders 16 and a top portion 6 b constituting agrille.

The portions 6 a and 6 b are shaped and arranged in such a manner thateach optical glass 5 occupies the corner formed by the bumper skin andthe grille.

In other words, each optical glass is bordered downwardly by the skin ofthe shield, and laterally on the inside by the grille.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 2, a reinforced under-engine ski isadded to the shield.

As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2, the geometrical portion comprisesa top cross-member 7 which extends horizontally from one side of thevehicle to the other, and a bottom edge 8 that is substantially parallelto the cross-member 7, and united thereto by substantially verticaluprights 9.

The cross-member 7 and the bottom edge 8 are curved at their endstowards the rear of the vehicle, so that they include end portions 12extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

In these end portions 12, a structure 13 extends downwards from thebottom edge 8, being constituted by two substantially-vertical uprights14 united by horizontal bars 15. This structure 13 presents a certainamount of stiffness.

Each optical glass 5 is housed in a compartment defined by thecross-member 7, the bottom edge 8, and two of the vertical uprights 9.

Each optical glass is fixed to the geometrical portion by conventionalmeans (not shown).

In its central portion, the cross-member 7 has a through passage 10 andtwo fixing orifices 11. In the example shown, the passage 10 is situatedexactly in the middle of the cross-member 7, both in the longitudinaldirection X and in the transverse direction Y.

The through passage 10 and the fixing orifices 11 are for receiving ahood lock (not shown) which is thus positioned very accurately in thedirections X, Y, and Z relative to the optical glasses 5 and to theshield 6.

The bottom edge 8 adjacent to the two optical glasses 5 is also shapedforwardly so as to provide a prop for holding the shield 6 flush witheach glass 5.

Each overrider 16 of the bumper skin 6 a extends as far as thecorresponding rigid structure 13, which acts as a reinforcing back platepreventing the shield from flapping sideways.

Finally, the bottom edge 8 is provided in each of its two end portions12 with a connecting bridge 17 between the fender (not shown) and thefront block, which bridge serves to force the fender to take up exactlythe shape of the geometrical module so as to be accurately positionedrelative to the optical glasses 5 and to the shield 6.

The bridge, which is not shown in detail in the drawing, is arranged topreserve the fender in the event of the bumper being severely deformed,by means of a mechanism which releases the fender from the bumper if thebumper comes back a long way.

As can be seen from the above explanation, the optical glasses and theshield are assembled to the geometrical portion 4 off the vehicleassembly line. Once this assembly has been done, the optical glasses andthe shield are accurately positioned relative to one another. Inaddition, because of the connecting bridges between the fender and thefront block, the fender is guaranteed to be positioned relative to theoptical glass.

With reference now to FIG. 3, there follows a description of thestructural module of the front block of FIG. 1.

This module is formed by the structural portion 3 of the equipment frontface, which portion is constituted in this case by a top horizontalcross-member 30 and by two vertical side legs 31 having plates 32 formedthereon for fixing to the ends 33 of side rails 34 of a vehicle.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, a radiator 35 is received inside thestructural portion, i.e. between the two side legs 31 and the topcross-member 30. In addition, each leg 31 supports a lateral convergingportion 36, and one of the legs carries a horn 37 and a tank 38, whilethe other leg carries a degassing jar 39.

An impact beam 40 mounted at its ends on impact absorbers 41 is added tothe front of the functional portion 3, being fixed to the fixing plates32.

In the example shown, the structure (FIG. 4) receiving the functionalmodule has a bottom beam 42 on its bottom flange 43.

The top cross-member 30 is provided with a plate 44 formed integrallytherewith for holding the hood lock in the direction Z. The hood lock isheld in this way solely for the purpose of withstanding any tearing openor slamming shut forces to which the hood lock is subjected, i.e. forcesacting along the vertical direction Z, and it does not in any way changethe X and Y positioning which is determined by the geometrical portion.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the same functional members are to be foundfitted to the structural portion 3′ of the equipment front face.However, the structure of the vehicle (see FIG. 6) does not have abottom flange, and a “bottom flange” cross-member 45 is added to thestructural portion of the equipment front face by being fixed to thefaces of the fixing plates 32 that face towards the inside of thevehicle.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment, corresponding substantially to FIG. 3,but in which additional equipment is provided on the structural portion3 of the front block: a support 50 for a battery 51 is fixed to one ofthe legs 31; and a support 52 for an air filter 53 is fixed to the otherleg.

It should be observed that each of the supports 50 and 52 has no need tobe dimensioned so as to be capable on its own of withstanding thestresses that result from the presence of the equipment it supportswhile the vehicle is in use. All that is required is that said supportis capable of supporting the equipment while the structural module isbeing assembled on the vehicle. During such assembly, other fasteningscan connect said support directly to the body of the vehicle in such amanner as to reinforce it for when the vehicle is in use.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the structural portion 1″′ of the equipmentfront face is constituted by no more than two legs 61 and 62, the topcross-member being omitted. In this variant, the engine hood is closedby two locks (not shown), each fixed to the top portion of acorresponding leg (after being positioned in the directions X and Y bythe geometrical portion).

In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the geometrical module 70 is functionallyidentical to that of FIGS. 1 and 2, but it further comprises firstly atop strength member 71 which props up the skin of the shield 6 at thelevel of a pedestrian's thigh or hip or femur (not shown) in the eventof the front of the vehicle striking a pedestrian in an accident. Thistop strength member 71 cannot be considered as being structural in thesense that it has no influence on the structure of the vehicle and hasno influence on high energy impacts of the kind likely to damage thestructure of the vehicle, but is restricted solely to dealing withpedestrian impacts.

In addition, the geometrical module 70 includes an impact absorber 72level with the impact beam, and also a low beam 73 which may integratean under-engine reinforcing bar or “ski”, like that of the shield ofFIG. 2.

In combination, these three elements 71, 72, and 73 enable the leg of anadult pedestrian to be supported at tibia, knee, and hip levels, therebyavoiding excessive break angles. The skin of the shield which covers thegeometrical module directly is propped up in these three locations so asto be capable of absorbing leg impact energy where such impacts are ofno consequence for the structure of the vehicle.

FIG. 10 shows the detail X of FIG. 9, in which it can be seen moreclearly how the light unit 74 is positioned on the geometrical module,and also how it is positioned relative to the shield.

Fasteners 75 hold the light unit to the geometrical module, and otherfasteners 76 are provided for fastening the geometrical module to thestructural portion of the equipment front face. The light unit 74 issupported securely by a cradle formed in particular by a strap 77defining the bottom of its housing for receiving the light unit.

The fasteners 75 are advantageously fusible, thus enabling them to dealwith lateral pedestrian impacts by releasing the light units which canthus retract against an impact from a pedestrian's hip.

As mentioned above, various functional members are fitted to the legsforming the structural portion of the equipment front face.

FIG. 11 shows two light units mounted on the geometrical module and thusproperly positioned relative to the shield and to the other surroundingpieces of bodywork.

Two assembly scenarios are possible for the structural and geometricalmodules of FIGS. 1 to 9:

either the structural module is assembled together with the engine andtransmission unit. In which case, the cooling circuit which includes theradiator is connected to the vehicle engine and the structural modulerests on an engine cradle. The assembly constituted by the engine andthe structural module is brought to the vehicle. The vertical position Zof the structural module is adjusted relative to a geometrical referenceof the bodywork, which reference may be provided by the reinforcing endsof the scuttle sides. Finally, the module is fixed on the body, at theends of the two side rails;

or else the structural module is mounted after the engine andtransmission unit. In which case, the structural module, whichincorporates the radiator, is brought to the vehicle and then thecooling circuit is connected to the engine, preferably using quickcouplings. The vertical position Z of the structural module is thenadjusted relative to a geometrical reference of the bodywork which maybe provided by the reinforcing ends of the scuttle sides, and then thestructural module is fixed to the body of the vehicle, at the ends ofthe two side rails.

Thereafter, the geometrical module of the front block is mounted on thefunctional module.

The geometrical module is positioned on the vehicle by bearingvertically in the direction Z on the structural module which is alreadyin place, while it is positioned in the directions X and Y bygeometrical reference to the bodywork, for example by pressing againstthe ends of the scuttle side reinforcements.

The connection bridges between the fender and the shield reshapes theend of each fender and hold it in such a manner as to conserve gooddocking for the fender on the geometrical module, and as to position itdurably relative to the optical glasses and relative to the shield.

The hood lock, suitably positioned in the directions X and Y isconnected in the direction Z to the top cross-member of the structuralmodule which can thus take up the forces to which said lock is subjectedand transmit them to the side rails of the vehicle.

Finally, the geometrical module is fixed to the vehicle body by beingconnected to the ends of the scuttle side reinforcements.

As can be read on FIG. 12, another embodiment of the invention comprisesa support 80 for a shield 82 and two optical elements 84.

The support 80 intends to be fixed in front of a structural partcomprising two vertical legs, two absorbers 88 and an impact beam 90.

The support comprises a rigid part 92, which is an upper cross-member,and a flexible part 94, comprising an upper flexible cross-member 96.

The rigid cross-member 92 is made of polypropylene charged with glassfibers, or polyamide charged with glass fibers. It assures structuralfunctions on the vehicle. Indeed, once it is fixed on the vehicle, thecross-member 92 constitutes, with the legs 86, the front end module ofthe vehicle. Moreover, the cross-member 92 carries means 98 for lockingthe hood of the vehicle, and also abutments 100 cooperating with thehood.

The flexible part 94 comprises two lateral parts 110, able to supportthe two optical elements 84, means for receiving and fixing the twooptical elements 84, members to fix the shield 82, docking zones 102 toreceive edges of the shield 82 and to position the edges of the shield82 relative to the edges of adjacent bodywork elements such as wings andof the optical elements 84. The flexible part 94 also comprises animpact absorber 104, situated at the level of the impact beam 90 inorder to deal with “leg” impacts.

The flexible part 94, and particularly the upper cross-member 96, ismade of a ductile, moldable and malleable material, such aspolypropylene, able to accompany the deformations of the shield 82 whenpositioning. Indeed, when the shield 82 is mounted on the vehicle, itslateral parts 106 have to be positioned relatively to the wings and theoptical elements 84, that is the reason why the central part of theshield 82, particularly its upper flange 108, is slightly deformed.

The upper flexible cross-member 96 spreads from one of the opticalelement 84 to the other. It is able to receive the upper flange 108 ofthe shield. When deformations are imposed to this flange 108, thecross-member 96 accompanies the flange 108 by distributing the movementof the flange 108 in the longitudinal X and transversal Y directions.

The shield 82 also comprises a medium flange 112, intended to besituated under the grill of the vehicle, which is fixed on a mediumflexible cross-member 114 in the flexible part 94. Similarly, thecross-member 114 is configured in the same way than the 96 one, in orderto accompany the deformations of the flange 112 by distributing itsmovement in X and Y directions.

The parts 92 and 94 are connected together through the optical elements84, elements able to fix the lateral parts 110 to the optical elements84, and through means 116 for fastening the rigid part 92 and theoptical elements 84. The means 116 are for example fixing lugsintegrally made with the boxes of the optical elements 84. The means 116do not definitively fix the optical elements 84. Indeed, it is possibleto slightly move the elements 84, so that they can be suitablypositioned relatively to the closed body parts, ie. the shield 82, thewings and the hood (not represented). For example, the means 116 areconnected to the rigid part 92 through a pivot connection with avertical axis. That connection allows the optical elements 84 to pivotrelatively to the rigid part 92 in the X,Y plan, by conserving aconstant height in the Z direction.

Positioning the shield 82 on the vehicle is done in the following way.The assembly constituted by the rigid part 92, the flexible part 94 andthe two elements 84 is put on the front block of the vehicle, by fixingthe part 92 on a radiator 118 or on the legs 86, depending on thedimension of the part 92.

The shield is then put on the flexible part 94, by inserting its lateralparts 106 in the docking zones 102 and by inserting the upper flange 108in a receiving zone of the upper cross-member 96. That receiving zonecomprises several fixing points 120, such as clamping ribs, which areclosed to each other, for example they are separated by less than 150millimeters. Thus, as those points 120 are closed, they do not cause atoo important stress on the flange 108 and so on the shield 82.

In another embodiment, the shield 82 is inserted in the part 94 beforeputting the assembly on the front block.

By inserting the shield, the 108 upper flange height in Z direction isimposed by the part 96, whose height is imposed by the means 116 forfastening optical elements to the part 92. Moreover, the position of theend of the hood is defined by the locking means 98 fixed on the rigidpart 92. Thus, thanks to the rigid part 92, the heights of the end ofthe hood and of the upper flange 108 are suitable, that is to say thatthe two pieces flush and present a satisfying clearance.

Once the shield 82 is inserted in the part 94, it is possible toposition it relatively to the closed body parts. The lateral parts 106are positioned, relatively to the optical elements 84 and wings, thanksto the docking zones 102.

By positioning those parts 106, they might approach or diverge at eachother. Thus, the central parts of the shield, particularly the flanges108 and 112, are submitted to slight deformations. During thosedeformations, the flexible parts 96 and 114 accompany the flanges 108and 112, so that they do not cause deformations on the shield 82 whichcould be too visible, and so obstruct the aspect of the vehicle.

As the parts 96 and 114 are not directly connected to the rigid part 92but through the parts 110, the optical elements 84 and the means 116,they can easily deform to accompany the shield.

Thus the flexible part 94 helps for suitably positioning the shield,both its lateral and central parts.

One can note that the flexible part 94 can be configured so that it canabsorb impacts such as “hip impacts” or “upper leg” impacts with apedestrian.

Naturally, the embodiments described above are not in any way limitingand can be modified in any desirable manner without thereby going beyondthe ambit of the invention.

In particular, although the examples shown involve optical glasses only,it is clear that other optical elements such as entire light units oroverglasses could be integrated in accordance with the invention withthe geometrical portion of the equipment front face.

Similarly, the hood lock, present in all of the embodiments described,is not essential for implementing the invention as defined in claim 1.

Finally, it should be observed that the geometrical module may be madeas a plurality of parts that are united with one another in such amanner as to readjust one of its dimensions, e.g. in the direction Y.Making such a module as a plurality of parts merely requires theaddition of fastener means between said parts, but no particularconstraints relating to mechanical strength are involved since thegeometrical module does not perform any structural function for thevehicle.

1. A support for a shield and at least two optical elements intended tobe fixed on a motor vehicle in front of a structural part on which animpact beam is fixed, the support comprising: means for receiving andfixing at least two optical elements; members to fix a shield; dockingzones to receive edges of the shield and to position the edges of theshield relative to the edges of adjacent bodywork elements and opticalelements; and an impact absorber level with the impact beam in order todeal with “leg” impacts.
 2. A support according to claim 1, includingmembers for propping up bodywork elements.
 3. A support according toclaim 1, in which the docking zones serving in particular to dockbodywork elements carried by the support with surrounding bodyworkelements are constituted by fender/shield pressers, and the dockingzones acting between the bodywork elements and the optical elementscarried by the support are constituted by grille/shield fixing and bypropping up the top area of the shield.
 4. A support according to claim1, further comprising means for positioning and fixing a hood lock.
 5. Asupport according to claim 1, including an appearance cross-member whichmasks a structural cross-member beneath the hood.
 6. A support accordingto claim 1, including a top strength member for acting as a bearingpoint for the shield in order to deal with pedestrian “hip” impacts (or“child's head”) impacts, and as a bearing point for the buttocks.
 7. Asupport according to claim 1, including a low beam for dealing with“leg” impacts.
 8. An equipment front face divided into two portions,namely a structural portion receiving functional members of the vehicle,and a geometrical portion constituted by a support according to claim 1.9. An equipment front face according to claim 8, in which the structuralportion complies with a geometrical reference of the bodywork in thevertical direction.
 10. An equipment front face according to claim 9, inwhich the geometrical portion bears vertically on the structuralportion, thereby imposing its positioning in the vertical direction, andis positioned in the longitudinal and transverse directions relative toa geometrical reference of the bodywork.
 11. An equipment front faceaccording to claim 8, in which the structural portion is arranged to befixed on the vehicle body, at the ends of two side rails.
 12. Anequipment front face according to claim 8, in which the geometricalportion is fixed to the body via the ends of scuttle sidereinforcements, and by re-fixing the lock on the structural portion inthe vertical direction.
 13. An equipment front face according to claim8, including a support that includes means for positioning and fixing ahood lock, and in which the geometrical portion and the structuralportion in the vicinity of the lock include section members which, onbeing assembled together, form a hollow body which stiffens theequipment face in the region in which the lock is fixed.
 14. Anequipment front face according to claim 8, in which the structuralportion includes a bottom flange which is fitted to the vehicle togetherwith the other parts carried by the structural portion.
 15. An equipmentfront face according to claim 8, having two hood locks each situated atthe top end of a respective vertical leg fixed to one end of a siderail, and, together with other leg fixed to the other side railconstituting the only parts forming the structural portion.
 16. A motorvehicle front block divided into two modules, namely a structural moduleintegrating various functional members of the vehicle, and a geometricalmodule integrating the bodywork elements for the front of the vehicle,wherein the geometrical module is constituted by a geometrical portion,by two optical glasses, and by a shield fitted to said geometricalportion; and wherein the structural module comprises an impact beam. 17.A motor vehicle front block according to claim 16, wherein thestructural module is constituted by a structural portion of an equipmentfront face and by various functional members of the vehicle assembled onsaid structural portion.
 18. A method of assembling parts on anequipment front face of a motor vehicle according to claim 9, whereinthe following steps are performed, in which the direction X indicatesthe longitudinal horizontal direction of the vehicle, the direction Yindicates the transverse horizontal direction of the vehicle, and thedirection Z indicates the vertical direction: fixing the structuralportion of the equipment front face to the structure of the vehiclewithout positioning it precisely in the directions X and Y but complyingwith a geometrical reference of the bodywork in the direction Z; and theputting the geometrical portion of the equipment front face intoposition by bearing vertically on the structural portion which imposesits positioning in the direction Z thereon, the geometrical portionbeing positioned in the directions X and Y relative to a geometricalreference of the bodywork.
 19. A support according to claim 1,comprising a rigid upper cross-member.
 20. A support according to claim19, also comprising a flexible upper cross-member.